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(No Model.) 2 SheetsSh.eet 1 T. B. LIGHTFOOT. APPARATUS FOR COOLING AIR.

No. 591,655. Patented Oct. 12,1897.

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T. B. LIGHTFOOT.

I APPARATUS FOR COOLING AIR.

No. 591,655. Patented Oct. 12 1897-.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS BELL LIGHTFOOT, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

APPARATUS FOR COOLING AIR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 591,655, dated October 12, 1897.

Application filed February 21, 1896. Serial No. 580,199. (No modeL) T0 aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, THOMAS BELL LIGHT- FOOT, engineer, a citizen of England, residing at No. 35 Queen Victoria Street, in the city of London, England, have invented a new and useful Improved Apparatus for Cooling Air, of which the following is a specification.

According to my invention I effect the cooling of an air-supply by means of apparatus constructed as follows: I arrange within a casing or chamber a series of pipesof zigzag or other convenient form, so as to constitute walls of pipes, placed side byside at anyconvenient distance apart and in any desired number, the lower ends of all the zigzags being connected to a main pipe for supplying the volatile liquid, while the upper ends are connected to a second main pipe, through which the vapor is drawn ofi, or vice versa. At thebottom of the said chamber, below the pipe-walls, is placed a shallow tank or tray which is supplied with the brine and from which the brine is raised by a pump and supplied to a series of troughs or distributors running along the top of the chamber immediately over each of the vertical walls of pipes, so that the brine in overflowing the serrated edges of the troughs or distributers will flow in a thin film downward over the surfaces of the pipes, thus becoming effectually cooled by contact therewith and eventually falling back into the tray atbottom. Between each two of the said pipe-walls I arrange a vertical plate, over the surfaces of which the cold brine is also made to flow from distributers above the upper ends, so that by means of these plates, in combination with the pipewalls, a very large amount of surface covered by cold brine is afiorded for the air-supply that requires to be cooled to come in contact with. At one end of the chamber containing the said pipe-walls and plates is provided an air-propeller which draws air from a cold room or other locality and propels it along the'chamber in contact with the cold brine flowing down the pipe-walls and plates, so that it arrives at the other end of the chamber efiectually cooled, and passes thence to a cold room or other locality where cold air is required.

Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the accompanying drawings show the construction of the abovedescribed apparatus employed by preference.

and have their lower ends connected to a main supply-pipe D for liquid ammonia or other volatile liquid, while the upper ends are connected to a main exhaust-pipe D, connected to an exhaust apparatus, by which the vapor is drawn off from the pipes. Between the said pipe-walls are fixed vertical plates M M.

At the end of the chamber A is fitted an air-propeller E, which draws air from a passage F, leading from a cold room or other 10- cality, and propelsit through the chamber A, from which it is led through the passage G to the cold room or other locality where cold air is required.

Below the pipes B B and plates M is a shallow tank or tray H supplied with bgine, this being withdrawn from the tank by a pipe I to a pump I, which raises it through a pipe I and delivers it into a longitudinal pipe J, having a number of branch pipes J extending across the walls of pipes and provided with jets J delivering the brine into dis tributing-troughs K K, situated immediately over each of the pipe-walls B and plates M. These troughs are supported from bars L, fixed to the standards 0, and have theirupper edges serrated, so that the brine delivered into them from the pipes J in overflowing the serrated edges in a very evenly-distributed manner trickles down the sides and onto the wall of pipes and the surfaces of the plates, along which it descends into the tray H, to be again raised by the pump. Thus the brine is effectually cooled by contact with the pfpes'and in'its tdi 'fi cools the air-currents flowing in contact therewith. At the same time the brine takes up the moisture of the air, so as to provide a supply of dry cold air.

As the cooling power of the pipe-walls is amply sufiicient to cool the whole body of brine circulated by the pump, it will be seen that by the addition of the plates M a greatly increased cooling action on the air is afforded at considerable less expense than if additional pipe-walls were provided in lieu of the plates.

Having thus described the nature of my invention and the best means I know for carrying the same into practical effect, I claim- 1. In apparatus for cooling air, a chamber having pipes arranged in adjacent vertical rows, vertical plates arranged intermediate of said rows of pipes, means for flowing a liquid over the surfaces of the pipes and plates, and means for forcing a current of air through the chamber, substantially as described.

2. In apparatus for cooling air, the combination of pipes through which volatile liquid is made to flow, arranged as a series of upright walls within a closed chamber, a series of vertical plates arranged intermediately between the pipewal1s,. a tank or tray below the said pipe -walls and plates containing brine, troughs or distributers arranged above the pipe-walls and plates and supplied with brine from the tank below by means of a pump, so that the brine flows down from the distributers over the pipe-walls and plates into the tank, and an air-propeller at the one end of the chamber for propelling air-currents through the latter in contact with the cold brine flowing down over the pipe-walls and plates substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, this 30th day of 

